


Surge of Chaos

by tatersalad5001



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Campaign: Graduation (The Adventure Zone), Gen, Mild Language, Not Canon Compliant, Panic Attacks, Sick Character, Sickfic, This was supposed to be just some sickfic what happenned)), fitzroy has a fun magical time, this is loosely not very far into the first semester of school in graduation, we out here rolling d100s lads
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:53:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24837214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tatersalad5001/pseuds/tatersalad5001
Summary: That’s when Argo saw Fitzroy sitting on the bottom bunk of his bunk-bed, his materials from class sitting on the other side of the bed and Snippers sleeping in his lap.There were two problems with this.1) Fitzroy never sat on the bottom bunk, even when he wasn’t sleeping.2) Fitzroy was supposed to on his way to class.
Relationships: Master Firbolg & Argo Keene & Sir Fitzroy Maplecourt
Comments: 3
Kudos: 55





	Surge of Chaos

**Author's Note:**

> idk if yall wanna catch up on taz graduation up to episode 17 before reading this one? it's supposed to take place like early on in the first semester of school but stuff might be a bit spoilery at times so like you might wanna cover your bases on that. just a warning, i guess.

Fitzroy woke up that morning feeling like he did every morning, more or less. A little off, perhaps, but nothing worth any concern. He got ready for his day the same as always, Snippers helping as much as he could. 

Soon he was ready to face the day. Argo and the Firbolg were already good to go, and together, they headed off. To breakfast, of course, before classes started.

Fitzroy always got his hopes up each morning, just in case, but he was disappointed to see there still weren’t any crepes available for breakfast. He grabbed something else and sat down with the others. Rainer was already asking Argo and the Firbolg about their plans for the day. Once he was in his seat, she turned towards him.

”Got anything special planned for the day, Fitz?” she asked.

”It’s Sir Fitzroy Maplecourt, Knight in...” Fitzroy trailed off in his mumbling as he remembered he was wasting his time. “Nothing today, unfortunately.” He sighed. “Just getting through the day, hoping my credits transfer over, and trying not to dwell too much on my failures.”

He was starting to be less angry at his magic for putting him in this situation. Snippers was very cute and sweet and easier to forgive than some intangible thing that was a part of him now.

”No plans for any of you?” Rainer asked. Her eyes lit up. “Hey, we should hang out later! I’ve got this new routine set up—“

”Actually I just remembered I do have to do this thing!” Argo said. “This thing that...I don’t remember what it is, but it’s very important!”

”I...have homework,” the Firbolg added.

”Yeah!” Argo smiled. “Me and the Firbolg, we’re doing this study thing.”

”I’ll pass.” Fitzroy rolled his eyes. That performance was almost pitiful, it was so bad. “Thanks for the offer, but as I have said before, I have no desire to watch you break the laws of nature and make your skeletons dance for amusement purposes.” 

“I also have no desire to see this thing,” the Firbolg added.

”Well, if you change your minds...” Rainer elbowed Argo. 

That was when it hit Fitzroy. His stomach was rumbling at him, and not because it was hungry. He was only halfway through his breakfast, but it looked like he was done now.

”Well, my stomach isn’t agreeing with what I’m eating right now.” Fitzroy stood up, trying not to show how much it was bothering him. “Excuse me.”

As soon as he left the dining area, Fitzroy headed as fast he could towards the nearest bathroom.

He was not a fan of the whole bathroom situation at all. Fitzroy tried to avoid using the bathrooms in this school as much as he could, actually. He couldn’t remember ever using them once, but unfortunately he really needed to make an exception here. He didn’t have a choice. Hopefully, it really was just his breakfast upsetting his stomach, because Fitzroy really wanted to make this a one-time thing. 

Concluding his business, Fitzroy ran as fast he could to his first class, before he was late. 

He wasn’t feeling any better.

* * *

Class was already enough of a struggle. Most of the classes Fitzroy was taking right now were similar to classes head’s already taken before he transferred, and he’d already done well in all his classes before now. Repeating these classes was pointless and boring. Other than magic classes, though, Fitzroy didn’t really have any options that were new to him as a first-year student that were also relevant for his career path. It always came down to those dang credits! Why was no one taking his plight seriously?

However, Fitzroy currently had another plight occupying his thoughts.

This stomachache was making class even harder to get through, if that was at all possible. Fitzroy was zoned out through at least half of it. By the time he left, he couldn’t even remember what the lesson that day had been about. He was already worn out.

Once it ended he was heading back to his room. If he was going to get through the rest of his day he needed some juice to fill up on. (No, not literally juice. You know, a snack.)

At one point, Argo and Fitzroy had had separate snack stashes, but the two separate stashes ended up combining into one to save space. Fitzroy grabbed the first thing he found in it and pulled out an orange. It was almost definitely meant for Argo, but they were sharing snacks now, yes? Surely Argo wouldn’t mind. Besides, Fitzroy was sure Argo had been stealing his (non-minty, not hot) gum. Even if it wasn’t Fitzroy’s favorite gum anyway, this could bring them closer to even.

Somehow, Argo had gotten those oranges that were easier to peel and Fitzroy thanked whoever the god of food was supposed to be.

A few slices in, Fitzroy’s stomach started rumbling again. It was even more upset at him now. Clearly, this wasn’t about what he ate. He must’ve caught some virus, which meant all he could do was wait it out. His stomach was more upset now, so class was clearly a bust. 

Fitzroy made his way on the bottom bunk of his bunk-bed setup and had Gary ask Festo if he could reschedule today’s magic lesson for the weekend or for some evening or something like that. He’d probably need to use the bathroom again soon (disgusting) and (un)fortunately the room was close to one. It was bad enough having to do that, and it’d be even worse if he had to ask if he could be excused from class like a child. Also, he definitely wouldn’t be able to do well in any lessons right now, especially magic lessons. After he made that request, Snippers got up onto the bed and cuddled in Fitzroy’s lap while Fitzroy watched on fondly.

Festo, as it turned out, was happy to accommodate. Fitzroy hadn’t skipped class so far, so they didn’t think he was just trying to get out of class, and it was easy to move a class that only one student to a different time. An evening time slot after Fitzroy felt better would be fine. Gary also let Fitzroy know that, on an unrelated note, Festo had been invited to a party during that period of time and they were excited to now be able to attend.

He snorted at that. Classic Festo, always ready to party.

Not too long after that arrangement was made, the door to the room opened and Argo entered. Ah, right. This would be about the time Fitzroy’s next class would be, wouldn’t it? Argo’s last class of the day had just ended.

Right. Fitzroy would have to at least explain to his roommates, since he probably wasn’t going to go to dinner with them. This was not going to be a fun time.

* * *

Once class was over, Argo headed back to his room.

This was one of his favorite parts of the day, after his last class was over. The Firbolg and Fitzroy still had another class to attend, so Argo had about an hour where he had the room to himself. Not that he didn’t dislike his roommates or anything, they were great! They were already great friends! It was just nice to have some time where Argo could unwind and be away from people for just a little while. Where he could relax and have a few moments of peace and quiet.

Since his friends were always heading to the next class at this time, the room was already empty whenever Argo arrived. So he didn’t even look around the room when he walked in to make sure, he hadn’t at all since his first week here.

Today would be no different, of course. He walked in the room, shut the door behind him, and starting putting everything he needed for class away. After he was done, he happened to look towards the bunk-beds for half a second.

That’s when Argo saw Fitzroy sitting on the bottom bunk, his materials from class sitting on the other side of the bed and Snippers sleeping in his lap. Fitzroy’s attention was very fixed on Snippers.

There were two problems with this.

1) Fitzroy never sat on the bottom bunk, even when he wasn’t sleeping.

2) Fitzroy was supposed to on his way to class.

Argo broke the silence, since he didn’t know if Fitzroy had noticed him enter the room, but he still needed to say something.

”Uh, hey, Fitzroy! You know you’re supposed to be in class, right?”

Fitzroy looked up towards Argo. It looked like Fitzroy was forcing himself to smile or something, because it didn’t look quite right. “Oh, that. Don’t worry yourself over that, I’ve already talked to Festo about it. I seem to, hm, ended up in a predicament? So that class is going to happen...later.”

”Oh. What kind of predicament?” Argo asked. 

Fitzroy looked back down towards Snippers. He hesitated for a second before speaking. “Well, you see, I think I might be sick? Every time I eat my stomach gets upset, and if I eat a lot, I immediately have to, uh, run to the bathroom and it gets...pretty bad in there? In fact, I might end up having to do that again soon. It was very hard to pay attention during my first class so I would rather try to learn while I’m not so distracted.”

That made sense. Fitzroy had never tried to get out of a class as far as Argo knew. 

”Is that why you ran off during breakfast earlier? I figured you just ate something bad.”

”Yes, that’s exactly the reason,” Fitzroy said. “I’m sorry. That was probably gross to hear.”

Argo didn’t know what he was talking about. He’d heard and seen far worse things out on the sea, but then again, Fitzroy was kind of a fancy stuck-up guy.

”Nah, I don’t mind! I like knowing if my friends are sick so I can help them out if I can.” Fitzroy breathed in sharply, probably from stomach pain, and Argo frowned. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

”If you could get me my own private, clean bathroom that would be good but other than that— ohshitIgottagothererightnowI’msorry!!” Fitzroy rushed the last part as he ran out of the room at top speed. Snippers was thrown into the air by the sudden motion, but seemed to be fine when he landed on the floor.

Argo looked down at Snippers. “You’re, like, his magic, aren’t you? Are you sick, too? Or do you like, not experience that stuff? Would that be because you’re magic, or because you’re a crab?” 

Snippers waved his claw at Argo.

Argo sighed. He knew a few things about crabs, but magic crabs were out of his expertise. He couldn’t tell what Snippers was saying like Fitzroy, either. He assumed Snippers must be okay if Snippers was still here? That was how Fitzroy’s spell worked, right? 

There was a lot Argo wasn’t sure about in this situation. He barely knew any magic besides the few spells he’d known for a long time. And he was experiencing a lot of firsts. First time he accidentally broke a pencil in class, first time he’d seen Fitzroy sick, first time he’d seen Fitzroy run to the bathroom, first time he’d try to talk to Snippers when Fitzroy wasn’t around. Other than the pencil thing, this was all sorta outside Argo’s domain. 

Fitzroy came back, after being gone a bit longer than Argo thought he would be. He did not seem to be kidding when he described it as getting ‘pretty bad in there’. After making it to the bottom bunk, Fitzroy half-sat half-collapsed back into his previous position on it.

”I can’t believe I’m saying this, Argo, but I’d rather be healthy and attending my magic lessons than this.”

Argo nodded sympathetically. Fitzroy’s situation with his magic was better, Fitzroy hadn’t hit him with lightning in a while, but it still seemed strained. “It’s a good thing you were able to get a make-up time for that. Your teacher must be pretty lenient.”

Fitzroy chuckled. “Other than insisting I need to love my magic, Festo’s pretty cool. They’re pretty chill, they’ve tried to call me the most ridiculous nicknames, and you know how they are about parties.” Argo did not in fact know how they were about parties, and really wasn’t getting a clear picture what kind of person Festo was, but that didn’t seem to stop Fitzroy. “Being the school embarrassment affords me special privileges, I guess. I get to work on cantrips and Festo basically gave me a new spell on day one.”

Argo wasn’t sure any of that answered his question, but sure. “I’m glad they’re nice to ya, and you both get along well. It’d be horrible to get special lessons from someone that hated you, I imagine.”

”Oh, it is,” Fitzroy said. “How about you? How’re your class teachers? You know, like the, uh, the apology one.”

”You mean the blame-taking one?” Argo asked. “Oh, it’s going well. My teachers all like me. The blame-taking class involves a lot of learning to tell convincing lies. I’ve been picking it up pretty well, I think I’m becoming a bit of a class favorite?”

“You’re the teacher’s pet type, it sounds like,” Fitzroy replied. “Apparently people don’t like those types, but it tends to come with a lot of advantages. Nothing wrong with that in my book. I’m glad that your teachers also don’t hate you, I guess.”

Argo laughed.

The two of them chatted for a while, and Fitzroy seemed to be in better spirits throughout. Argo was just glad he could do something to help. 

He really hoped Fitzroy would feel better soon.

* * *

When the Firbolg arrived back to the room, it sounded like the other two were in there, talking.

He smiled to himself, before walking in. It was good to hear they were getting along. He was glad the three of them were friends.

Argo turned to look at the Firbolg as he walked in. “Oh, shit, class is over already? Time really flew,” he commented.

”Hey there, Blueberry Buddy!” Fitzroy pointed towards the Firbolg.

”This will not work. It’s too long,” the Firbolg told him.

”I’ll keep working on it,” Fitzroy assured him. Hopefully his next attempt would be better than the last few were. “How was your class?”

Oh no. Would anyone grant him any mercy today? The reminder of class was already bringing back his earlier headache. “I do not want to talk about the maths and the numbers.” He still barely understood any of it. This was a great shame.

"That's fine, friend! You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Argo said. Fitzroy nodded in agreement. The Firbolg was happy that they were willing to drop the subject. He also felt lucky to be rooming with such understanding people as them.

"It's dinner time, isn't it?" The three of them all going to dinner every day after Fitzroy and the Firbolg were done with class, the Firbolg knew that. "Should we go? Or are we waiting?" He didn't want to sound like he was forcing them all to go to dinner now, but he was used to the schedule, so it made sense to at least ask.

Fitzroy and Argo both hesitated, sharing a glance.

"I forgot to tell you, Master Firbolg. I seem to be sick?" Fitzroy said. "I don't want to go into graphic detail about it, I think I may have traumatized poor Argo, I know I'm certainly traumatized over the events of this day."

"I'm not traumatized at all. You're just a big baby about the bathrooms," Argo told Fitzroy

Fitzroy continued like Argo hadn't said anything. "But I don't think I should eat. Not right now."

"Eating is good for you when sick, no?" the Firbolg asked. "You should eat to help yourself feel better faster."

"I don't think it's _as_ good for me when eating has been sending me to the bathroom."

"I see. This is not desirable. Hmm..." This wasn't an easy puzzle to solve. The Firbolg wondered if any of his berries would be easier on Fitzroy's stomach. Maybe? Maybe not? Could Fitzroy even ate the berries he ate everyday? It was hard to tell when Fitzroy was as different as he was to the Firbolg.

Argo looked back and forth between the Firbolg and Fitzroy as they spoke, until Argo spoke himself. "Why not compromise then? I'll tell you what. I'll go to dinner, tell everyone else you're not feeling well. Then I'll bring Fitzroy some crackers or something small and light when I come back. How does that sound?"

"This is satisfactory. I will be eating my berries anyway, so I will stay here and make sure Fitzroy is okay."

Fitzroy frowned. "I hardly think that's necessary. I will be fine on my own--"

"This is a great honor!" the Firbolg continued. "There is no greater duty than the sworn duty to care for a friend in need!"

"You can stay if you want, I suppose," Fitzroy mumbled with a sigh.

"Perfect." Argo turned towards Fitzroy. "I won't be gone long, I'll bring back your food before you know it."

"No, really, don't rush yourself for my sake," Fitzroy said. "I don't really want crackers anyway--" He trailed off as he realized he was talking to empty air. Argo was already gone. "Okay then."

The Firbolg sat down on the floor where he was, on the opposite side of the room from Figzroy but still facing him. Quickly locating the pouch he kept his berries in, the Firbolg pulled out enough for dinner. As he took his first bite, he looked closer at Fitzroy.

Fitzroy as his normal, healthy self was an image the Firbolg could easily recall in his mind after knowing each other as long as they had. That was not the image he saw in front of him. Fitzroy’s face was pale, his arms pressed against his stomach. He was sitting unmoving on the bed, staring blankly at one of the walls. He definitely wasn’t in any life-threatening condition, but he was definitely not well, either. 

If there was a spell that could cure Fitzroy of his illness, the Firbolg wished he knew it. He could heal injuries, but nothing like this. Even if Fitzroy wasn’t in immediate life-threatening danger from this, the Firbolg still preferred to see his friend healthy.

”Do you think a berry would help?” the Firbolg picked up one of his berries. “I have several if you want any.”

Fitzroy smiled, a smile just barely perceptible. “I appreciate your offer, but I don’t think there’s a berry in the world my stomach feels like digesting right now. Eat that one for me.”

That arrangement worked for the Firbolg. He wasn’t familiar enough with half-elves to know anything he could do, but at least he had offered. He would continue to try to figure out something to do for Fitzroy.

“How are you feeling?”

As the Firbolg ate the berry he had offered Fitzroy, Fitzroy answered, ”Not great. But, honestly, it could be a lot worse. I’ve certainly been there. I’ sure this is just one of those bugs that like to go around, within a couple of days I’m sure I will be back to normal.” 

“I hope for your speedy recovery, then,” the Firbolg said. 

As promised, Argo was soon back with a sleeve of crackers that he’d snuck back from the dining area. After some convincing and insistence, Fitzroy chanced them, a couple at a time, in the hopes his stomach wouldn’t be upset by this.

He was running back to the bathroom within five minutes.

* * *

All three roommates had decided to spend an evening in together. Fitzroy was definitely not up for going out, so the Firbolg and Argo had stayed in support and for help if it was needed. The evening went by without any big issues, though, and before any of them knew it it was time to sleep. Argo and the Firbolg slept in their usual places, while Fitzroy went for the bottom bunk of his bunk-bed this time. The top bunk helped him feel important and gave him an advantage in seeing anything happening, but it wasn’t worth the energy climbing up to tonight. Fitzroy would prefer to conserve that energy.

And the night crept on as normal. Until Argo woke up in the middle of the night, that is.

When Argo awoke, something in the room immediately felt off, but in the dark it was hard to tell what. Their door was still closed, that damn cat wasn’t around, and there seemed to be no additional people in their room. As his eyes started to glow in the dark, however, he was able to see Fitzroy’s body levitating near the ceiling, still in the same position Fitzroy Was in when he started his trance.

”What the fuck?”

His voice immediately broke Fitzroy out of his trance. At first, seeing how close the ceiling was his face, Fitzroy assumed he was sleeping in his top bunk as normal. When he realized he wasn’t actually in bed at all, he started to panic and looked at the floor. 

“Holy beans, what—“

Fitzroy began to fall as he started at the ground, but he landed gently on his feet on the floor between his bunk-bed and Argo’s bed. 

By now, the commotion had woken up the Firbolg as well. 

“Shit, Fitzroy. I didn’t know you could fly!” Argo continued to stare at Fitzroy in amazement.

”This is a great achievement. A new spell should be celebrated!” the Firbolg added. 

“What, no, when, I...” Fitzroy stared first at his feet, then his hands. This feeling he had now wasn’t the feeling had whenever he cast a spell. All he could feel was the familiar emotions of fear and disappointment he was too familiar with. “That wasn’t a spell, I didn’t, I didn’t cast that? That wasn’t me? What—“

As panic began to creep into Fitzroy’s voice, a bright white light filled the room, blinding all three of them. It disappeared after a minute, and it was only then that they all realized that the bright light had been coming from Fitzroy.

”Geez, I know I don’t have nightvision, but I can still see well enough that I don’t need that much light,” Argo complained.

”I’m sorry about that guys, I— I’m not casting anything,” Fitzroy told them. “I think it’s just...my magic...”

His magic.

Magic was hard work, but Fitzroy was working hard at it. He wasn’t perfect at it by any means, he didn’t have complete control over it or anything. But he’d been doing better than he was! It’d been a while since his magic had gotten out of control like this!

Did it really only take one bad day to put him back to square one? Was someone about to turn into a catfish? Was he about to electrocute his friends again?

While Fitzroy was trapped in his thoughts, Argo woke up Gary. “Hey, Gary? Can you contact, uh, Festo?” He was pretty sure that was the name of Fitzroy’s magic teacher.

”I mean, Festo partied pretty hard today, they’re trying to sleep it off. I can wake them up, I guess?” Gary suggested.

”Can you tell them Fitzroy needs help? It’s kind of an emergency?” Argo asked.

”Yeah, sure, I’ll let them know what’s going on.” Gary paused for a minute. “Okay, they’re awake now. They said help’s on the way.” 

While Argo spoke with Gary, the Firbolg stood up from where he’d been sleeping and approached Fitzroy. “Fitzroy.” Fitzroy looked towards the Firbolg, still panicked. “Please, sit with me.”

The Firbolg sat down, and Fitzroy slowly sat with him. Tears were falling down his face now, tears that Fitzroy didn’t notice but the Firbolg could see. 

“Can you tell me five things you can see?” the Firbolg asked.

See? Fitzroy blinked and tried to focus on the room around him. “You? Uh, the door...Argo’s bed? The window, and, uh, does the floor count?”

”Yes, good.” The Firbolg kept his voice as calm as he could, though to Fitzroy he didn’t sound not calm at all. The Firbolg was very worried about Fitzroy, between his illness and whatever was happening to his magic, but the Firbolg couldn’t panic. Fitzroy needed both him and Argo right now. “Tell me four things you can hear.”

”You?” It took Fitzroy longer to give any other answers. “Argo’s talking to Gary, I think, I hear both of them. Someone’s walking by our room. It...sounds windy outside?”

”Yes, this is very good,” the Firbolg said.

Fitzroy sniffed and rubbed his wrist against his face. Then he took a deep breath. “I...I think I’m okay now. Sorry, I sort of lost it for a minute there. Thank you, for helping me calm down.”

”I’m glad you are feeling better. You’re welcome,” the Firbolg replied.

Argo turned towards Fitzroy and the Firbolg, his conservation with Gary now over. “That was amazing, Firby! Where did you learn that?“ Being able to ground himself or someone else was a highly desirable for Argo. He tried to commit it to memory, as something he could at least try to do when he needed it.

The Firbolg wasn’t sure it was that impressive, but he answered Argo’s question anyway. “I felt panicked a lot on my journey to this school. I felt alone and lost after I left my clan. But when I saw the trees around me, the sky above me, the dirt below me, remembering it was all still there helped me feel better. After I arrived here, I found a book that tried to explain it to me.” He shrugged. Honestly, he’d already forgotten a lot of the book, but it seemed like he still remembered the parts that mattered.

“Well, Argo, looks like we’ll have to check out that book together soon,” Fitzroy said. “Sounds like good information for all three of us to have.” The three of them really did have a lot more in common than Fitzroy ever would’ve thought the day they met each other.

As this thought crossed his mind, thick fog began to fill the room.

”You have got to be kidding me,” Fitzroy muttered.

The three of them could barely see each other through the fog, and it was quickly clear that none of them had any ideas on how to get rid of it. Luckily, they didn’t need to.

A glowing light appeared in the room, near the door. The light began to approach the trio and only stopped when it was close to all three of them. Some sort of wind-like force began to pick up in the fog-filled room, dissipating the fog out the door until none was left in the room. The light glowed for a second before fading to allow the three of them to be able to see Festo.

”I was hoping you had a good reason to have Gary wake me up, but now I’m wondering if I should’ve been careful what I wished for.” Festo stared up at Fitzroy with an unpleasant expression on their face, their voice cracking as they spoke. Argo and the Firbolg watched Festo, confused. “Why was your room filled with fog?”

”Hello to you, too, Festo, it’s nice to see you even though I cancelled our class earlier. I wish I had a good reason for the fog, but you see—“ Fitzroy’s stomach grumbled, making Fitzroy cringe. “Oh no, wh—“

Before he could finish his statement, Fitzroy disappeared.

”Well, that was rude,” Festo commented. They turned their attention to the rest of the room. “So, are you two his roommates? Are you Fitzy’s friends?”

”Fitzy?” Argo giggled. “He really lets you call him that?”

”He does not! But he’s not here anymore, so he can’t stop me from calling him whatever nickname I choose,” they told Argo.

The Firbolg had been processing Festo’s question in the meantime, but understanding now dawned on him. “Yes, we are both friends with Fitzroy, and we share this room with each other as well as with him.”

”Oh, this is good!” Festo replied. “It’s so nice to meet you, Argonaut Keene, Master Firbolg. Fitzroy has told me stories about you!"

"They are good stories, I hope?" the Firbolg asked.

"I can't say! I've been sworn to secrecy!" Festo chuckled. "So, can you two tell me what's happening with Fitzroy? Preferably without disappearing?"

Argo really hoped all the stories Fitzroy told Festo about them were good, but from the sounds of it he'd never know. Might as well move on. "We're pretty sure he's sick? He has to run to the bathroom every time he eats, and apparently it's not great. No idea what's up with like, the fog and the glowing. Magic isn't really my thing unless it involves water. Does he know a spell that makes him fly up in the air?"

"No, he doesn't." Festo blinked. "He's had a hard enough time learning the most basic spells. He levitated?"

"He did this, yes," the Firbolg replied. "He has had difficulty focusing in class. He does not want to disrupt the class to run to the bathroom."

"That would explain why he didn't come to class. But the rest of it..."

Before Festo could continue the thought, everyone heard the door close. They all turned to see Fitzroy, who just had entered the room. 

"Sorry everyone." Fitzroy waved awkwardly. "I very suddenly had to run to the restroom and then it became much more urgent when I suddenly just, teleported into one of the stalls."

Festo frowned. "Fitzroy, your friends told me about your stomach issues, and it sounds like you are having magic issues as well. Do you know what's going on with your magic?"

"Uh. I'm not entirely sure, to be quite honest," Fitzroy admitted. "You know how I am a barbarian, Festo? And how barbarians can go into a rage?"

"I know what barbarians are," Festo said.

"When I rage, I can't seem to use any spells until I stop. I've tried before. But also when I enter a rage, something magical happens to me?" Fitzroy explained. "It's not like me casting a spell or anything, it's not always the same thing that happens. I have teleported before when I've raged, but I wasn't raging in here or in the bathroom. And I haven't glowed bright light or levitated when raging before. This all started in my sleep tonight, and new things keep happening out of my control when I haven't been doing anything. I have no idea if any of this is rate-related or not. And of course, you obviously know I don't know spells that do these things."

"I do know that. And you definitely shouldn't be entering rages outside of combat, especially when you're asleep. I'm sure it's not rage-related, but-- oh!" Festo was quickly distracted. "I like the shirt you're wearing, Fitzroy! It's a nice shade of purple!"

"Purple??" Fitzroy glanced down. "This shirt is supposed to be green, not purple." It was supposed to be a nice green shirt that he got for free from Clyde Nite's Night Knight School, with white lettering, a shirt that was too big for him but worked as a pajama shirt well at night. At the very least, it made for a bad joke. The lettering was still white, but the shirt was purple, and definitely a darker shade than it had been while it was still green. The shirt was definitely green when Fitzroy fell asleep. 

"When you stopped levitating and I could see you better, the shirt was definitely purple," Argo told him.

"Did you accidentally cast Prestidigitation?" Festo asked. "You have accidentally cast spells before. Maybe because you're sick all the extra stuff is happening as well? It is a very good thing we didn't have our lesson today."

"I should turn my shirt back to normal--" Fitzroy mumbled.

"No!!" Festo held their hand out towards Fitzroy. "Don't do that! Your magic might become more unstable if you cast another spell."

"Then what do you suggest? It's not like I can prevent myself from casting spells accidentally," Fitzroy pointed out. "If it's going to happen anyway, might as well get it over with."

"It won't happen." Festo reached into their pocket and pulled out a small rock. They placed it in Fitzroy's hand. This is not just an ordinary rock, Fitzroy. It has been enchanted to cast a weak version of Antimagic Field; it surrounds you with a small invisible field when you hold it that will suppress any magic that you cast or that happens to you. You can borrow it until you are no longer sick, and then I will need it back."

"So you've had this since you entered our room? Didn't you cast a spell to get rid of the fog immediately?"

"I was not holding it! It wasn't in my hand! It was in my pocket."

"That makes no sense and sounds completely wro-- How long have you had this?"

"A few years."

"I asked you at the start of the semester if you could get rid of my magic and you held out on me!"

"It doesn't get rid of your magic, it suppresses magic. And like I said, I'll need it back. I can't just give it out to any student that doesn't love their magic like you."

Festo and Fitzroy argued a bit longer into the night, but Festo left the room soon after the argument started and before the group knew it, Argo, the Firbolg, and Fitzroy were back in bed, trying to fall back to sleep. Fitzroy slept dreamlessly and soundlessly for the for once for the rest of the night, with the exception of seeing a pair of pure white eyes stare at him for a brief period of time.

Within a couple of days, Fitzroy was no longer sick, and his magic stopped surging out of control. As promised, the rock was then returned to Festo. Fitzroy continued his magic lessons and spending time with Snippers just like normal.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll level with you-- I started writing this like ten days ago. At the time I was only at like episode 13 of graduation. I intended to write all the beats of the story at first, including the Wild Magic Surge stuff. Then I started to lose inspiration and energy, so I figured I would cut out all of the nighttime stuff including the Wild Magic Surge stuff. And THEN I started to listen to a couple of more episodes of graduation and got to like episode 15 and got really into this again and went back to my original intention.
> 
> I originally started doing this tapping into my middle school self where if I was sick I liked to write characters being sick. Thus, this is a sickfic. I started writing while I was sick, with something a bit different than what I gave Fitzroy but this was easier to write bc I've experienced more being sick this way, but I got better after like two days and just kept writing after I got better. I'm okay now! 
> 
> While I definitely had already planned out all the things that would happen here, I didn't expect it to be this long? Dude this is over 5,000 words holy shit, that was an accident. It's almost 6,000 words of me writing very self-indulgent sick fic. Holy shit.
> 
> I quickly claimed this as non canon compliant because I figured I may have misremembered when some things happened so I might have gotten references to things wrong here and there, and then also as dnd mechanics were brought in I figured I may have messed that up a bit, but I was too tired to make sure either thing was completely right and accurate and also i made some things up so screw it it isn't canon compliant anymore.
> 
> When I brought in the Wild Magic Surge table at the time Griffin hadn't used it yet so I thought it would be fun to play with. I always planned to actually roll on the table and I did do actual rolls and refer to the table. I did reroll certain things to make sure effects fit the situation and were slightly interesting, but then also like, Griffin ended up doing a Wild Magic Surge roll halfway through writing out everything for the Wild Magic Surge rolls I did, and Fitzroy got fucking tall! What the fuck! He's still shorter in this fic obviously. Wild Magic Surge was fun to play with and then Wild Magic Surge actually happening in the podcast was super cool!! So I thought that whole thing was neat.
> 
> Anyway that's a lot more words on top of the fic words so. Thanks for reading!! I hope you enjoyed!!!


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